Rainy Mood
by hilzanne
Summary: April is still angry about her newly mutated father, but she misses the turtles more than she can bear. When they finally reunite, can April let go of her fear and admit the feelings she has tried too long to hide? And will Donatello's work on the retro-mutagen actually be worth it in the end?
1. Overcast Sorrow

******Each chapter is titled after a song by one of my favorite bands, Hammock. They are an ambient post-rock group that I love listening to** while reading. Check them out and listen while you read if you like! The music has a positive, calming vibe to it I think anyone could enjoy. Thanks for checking out my story!

Donatello laid his head across his arms on the workbench. His mind was heavy; clouded thoughts swirled within him. It was late. Beakers, test tubes and spreadsheets lay scattered over the bench. The turtle sighed as the weight of his thoughts seemed to crush his body under their gravity. Mutagen Man. Kirby O'Neil. Foot Clan robots. April's _boyfriend._ Even in his mind he said the word with utter disgust. The thought repulsed him.

Donnie tilted his head to glance at the T-phone across the work table. He willed it to ring. But it remained silent. He sat up with another sigh and began shuffling the papers into a neat pile. He placed the glass tubes back on their racks. He drained the beakers of their chemicals, carefully disposing of them in the lab's sink. No progress on a retro-mutagen. Again.

Rain drizzled on the streets, creating a gentle patter in the sewers below as the falloff ran into storm drains. Gentle rolls of thunder rumbled miles away. Donnie's T-pod was turned to a low volume so it would not drown out the sounds of the rain. The songs were soft and wispy, almost like they did not quite belong in such a harsh sewer, in such a harsh city, in such a harsh world. Though the music was mind-numbing, the turtle could not quiet the tempest in his head. He found it difficult cope with the loss of Timothy, now Mutagen Man, but he knew he could come to grips with it in time. There was confidence that he could reclaim Timothy's mind once again with patience and experiments. But it was the loss of April's trust that ached like broken hands. Constant, agonizing, raw.

Donatello took the clean beakers back to the bench, placing them upside-down to dry. He looked across the table at the hole in the brick wall, now boarded in a rudimentary fashion. Was a retro-mutagen even possible? Had he and his brothers made irreversible mistakes? The notion sickened him. Donnie sat back down at the bench and gathered his spreadsheets in his oversized hands. He thumbed through them, hoping a flash of inspiration and clarity would come. Each paper stared back at the turtle, mockingly empty of value. Red X's and scrawled captions marred each page. "No visible result." "Condition worsened." "Failure."

Pulses of pain shot through his head. He always ended up with a migraine when he stayed up late, especially after staring at charts and books for hours on end. The turtle tossed the papers aside and stretched his aching back. He sauntered over to his box of medicine only to find his bottle of Ibuprofen empty, but he knew there was another in the kitchen.

Donnie slid the large metal door of his lab open as quietly as he could, noticing a lifeless Michelangelo on the couch of the lair. The dim light of the TV, now only showing color bars, illuminated the turtle's path to the kitchen. Mikey's limbs were sprawled like a rag doll and his mouth lay wide open. Donatello would have mistaken him for a corpse if he had not made the occasional gurgling snore. The lanky turtle opened a medicine cabinet and dumped three red pills into his hand. He dry-swallowed them on the way back to his room, watching Mikey's plastron rise and fall slightly.

As he slid the door closed with a metallic clank, a veil of sleepiness came over him. The drizzle outside had turned into a deluge, the heavy droplets smacking the asphalt above. Donatello flicked the light switch, leaving only a soft floor lamp near his bed to illuminate the space. He grabbed a book from the workbench before stepping towards the bunk. His leather belt and sash fell to the floor with a _clink_ and he climbed between his silky plum-colored sheets. Donnie was quite sensuous; he enjoyed having soft sheets and listening to relaxing music. It helped to combat the struggle in his mind lately.

As the downpour continued the batter the streets, Donnie sat up in his bed, skimming over a book about biochemistry. His eyelids could not hold out for long, though. Eventually, the turtle succumbed to his exhaustion and fell asleep propped up with the text in his lap, heavy head lolled to one side.


	2. Blankets of Night

**Rainy Mood, Chapter 2. Reviews always welcome! Much more to come on this story.**

April dropped her head onto her open trigonometry book. _Math is the bane of my existence, _she thought to herself. A jumbled mess of numbers, Greek letters and symbols churned in her mind as she groaned into her book. But more than just her homework clouded her thoughts like a dense fog.

One full week. That was how long it had been since she last saw the creature that had once been her father. The last time she had spoken to her four closest friends. The last time she had looked into the russet-colored eyes she knew so well.

She took a deep breath and shoved her chair away from her desk. She shut her math book with a soft _thump_ and slid it back into her book bag. Raindrops rolled down her window, leaving tiny trails of clean glass in their wake. She watched them streak slowly to settle on the window sill, mesmerized for a few moments. Rainy evenings like this made her think of leaving her window open on warm summer nights when she was young. The soft sound of the rain had always lulled her to sleep, soothing and pleasant.

She felt compelled to sit by the window and just listen to the downpour. Her hand rested on the cool glass. It was late enough that no cars passed by, and the only sound was that of fat droplets landing heavily on the pavement below. Entranced by the sound as she stared out her window, a moving shadow caught April's eye. She quickly tried to focus on it in the dark only to discover it was a stray cat knocking over a trash can. Her heart rate slowed back to normal when she realized it was not a turtle. Trance now broken, she left the window and padded over to her plush bed. She removed her cozy sweatshirt and slid out of her slippers before wriggling into her sheets.

April pulled her hair out of its ponytail. It had been so tight that her head ached. She reached for the composition notebook on her bedside table and a pen from its drawer. Feeling around for a pen as she flipped through the pages of the notebook, April's hand found a domed object with a rough patterned texture. Her body froze when she recognized it as her T-phone. She felt a weight hit her chest as she remained motionless. Her eyes squeezed shut to stop the rising flood of memories. Burning hot tears balanced on the verge of spilling over onto her freckled cheeks. _Why, _she thought. _Why does everything have to remind me of them?_

She remembered back to English class that day. A boy in an orange polo had been cracking jokes the entire period. In gym, two boys had had a showdown in dodge ball, with the red team eventually defeating the blue. Afterwards, the two boys walked together to the locker room saying, "No hard feelings." During last period advanced chemistry, a quiet yet brilliant boy had asked to be her lab partner. After class, she watched him pick up his purple backpack and leave.

At that final memory, April threw her head back to stare at the ceiling, and to let gravity do the work. Tears flowed from the corners of her azure eyes silently as she gripped her notebook tightly to her chest. She wanted nothing more than to cry out and let her tears run their course, but she stifled every noise, save for the occasional sniffle. Her breaths came in short bursts. She sat there clutching the notes for a few moments, trying to erase the thoughts from her mind. Just as she started to calm down, she wiped the moisture off her face and flipped a few more pages in her notebook. There was something stuck between the sheets. She turned to it to find a photo. April sat on a swing, smiling and laughing while a tall turtle pushed her, flashing a gap-toothed grin. Tears sprang anew and she launched the notebook across the room. It hit the wall and crumpled to the ground. This time, she could not hold back.

April leaned her head into her hands and her body convulsed with sobs. She was not crying just because she missed the four best friends she had ever had, or just because of her father's mutation. She cried when she remembered how much she deeply regretted screaming at the turtles, at Donnie, to stay away from her. She hated that she had lied to her father to get him to go up to the roof where he had been mutated. But the one single moment that caused her the most pain was remembering when Donatello had taken April into his arms when her father had been kidnapped. He had looked straight into her eyes with resolve and confidence, promising her he would get her father back to her safely.

And he had. Donnie had never lied to April. So when she turned her back on him, had seen the sorrow in his eyes, had screamed at him to stay away from her forever, she realized that she had shattered the trust between them. By running away, she had spit in his face. Called him unworthy. Never intelligent enough to bring her father back. In that moment where blue eyes locked onto brown, she had had full and complete trust in him. And then she threw it all away.

April cried out as flashes of lightning filled her room. She now realized how completely wrong she had been to run. She ran away from her best friends, friends who loved her. And she had run away from the only person she knew had the capability to create a retro-mutagen and return her father once again.

"Donatello," she choked. "I am so sorry…"

Raindrops fell heavily on the streets. Thunder rolled in the distance. Lightning illuminated her bedroom for instants at a time. Still sobbing, she cocooned herself in the covers of her bed until her crying had exhausted her completely and she fell into dreamless sleep.


	3. In the Nothing of a Night

**The first two chapters were all about setting the mood; now we can get into the meat of the story. After the Nov. 23rd episode of the new TMNT, my story became a little obsolete, but I shall continue to write anyway, because this is the plot bunny that keeps reproducing! More and more ideas keep popping into my head, and I can't wait to get them all written down! I'd love to hear your feedback, and I hope you enjoy!**

A good night's sleep almost always left Donatello waking to a clear, refreshed mind. But the morning after his late night mutagen session had left thoughts floating through his head, even after hours of slumber. He craned his neck side to side, attempting to alleviate the stiffness sleeping hunched upright had left him with. He shut the book that was still on his lap and slowly crawled out of bed. He heard his brothers stirring in the next room and headed their way.

Donnie's jaw locked in a massive yawn as he lazily pulled the lab's metal door open. Raphael and Leonardo sat at the kitchen table about to dig into their breakfast. Michelangelo carried a plate piled high with pancakes towards his tallest brother.

"Ah, so you're alive after all," Raphael said from the kitchen.

Michelangelo extended the plate towards Donnie. "You look beat! I was going to bring you breakfast in bed, but you beat me to it!"

Mikey smiled as Donnie gladly took the plate. The two joined their brothers at the table.

"Thanks, Mikey. It was a late one last night," Donnie said, still rubbing sleep out of his eyes.

The four brothers said in unison, "_Itadakimasu," _and began tearing apart their pancakes.

Leo spoke up, mouth full of syrup. "Any progress yet?"

Donnie poked at his plate absentmindedly. Thoughts of biochemistry still drifted through his mind. "Nothing significant. I don't have much to go off of. There aren't exactly a lot of experiments to emulate for alien mutagen technology."

Raph snorted. "Yeah, no kidding."

"It's just a matter of time though, right? I mean, you'll figure it out eventually," said Leo.

Donnie took a small bite of his sugar-drenched breakfast. "I sure hope so. There has to be some kind of predictable behavior the mutagen follows when it comes into contact with DNA..." He trailed off, rather thinking out loud than trying to make conversation.

"Well, if anyone can figure it out, it's probably you, Don. No one else wants to touch that weird Kraang stuff," Raphael said between bites.

The brothers continued chatting about patrols and the weather, but Donnie's mind was elsewhere. He felt like he had seen something, somewhere that could give him a better heading about the mutagen. To reverse its effects, he first needed to understand them...

Conversation shifted to the mutant squirrels that had encountered several days before. As the boys finished their meal, Raphael recounted his less-than-pleasant experience with the alien "squirrelanoids."

"Man, when they were in my stomach? It felt like after eating Leo's cooking!" Raph and Mikey laughed at their frowning brother.

"Hey!" Leo combatted. "That toaster oven is cursed, and it was not my fault that those Hot Pockets were still half frozen! And you're lucky you didn't contract some kind of mutant rabies from those squirrels!"

Rabies. It clicked. Donnie quickly dumped his empty plate in the sink before heading back to the lab.

Mikey watched him leave, surprised. "Where are you going, Don? You training with us?"

"Yeah, give me a minute. I just thought of something," Donatello jogged across the lab to his bed, picking up the biochemistry book he had fallen asleep with. He furiously flipped pages, looking for where he had left off the previous night.

"Come on, come on..."

He spotted the chapter on infecious disease and the immune system and stopped to pore over the words. And there it was.

He recalled that rabies was the most deadly disease known to man, yet a vaccine had been created for it.

"If Louis Pastuer and Emilie Roux created the vaccine for rabies, then it's possible I could make a mutagen vaccine," he thought. "But vaccines are for prevention. They can only work before the onset of symptoms." Donnie thought hard. Maybe by trying to create a vaccine, he would be able to study the mutagen more closely and come to understand its patterns and behaviors. And once a disease is fully understood...

"I can cure it. I know I can." A signature gap-toothed smile spread across the turtle's face.

Donnie burst back into the living room, startling his brothers. But this time, he did not wear the countenance of a distant, sleep-deprived scientist. He smiles at them with confidence.

Raph looked at him with a twisted up face. "What, did you find twenty bucks or something?"

"Raph," Donnie started. "I need a sample of Spike's DNA. And yours."


	4. Clouds Cover the Stars

**The next installment! My laptop has been dead for a couple weeks now, or I would have had the last chapter out waaay sooner. But, I got a new laptop for my 22nd birthday, and am all revved up for some new chapters! Once again, enjoy!**

Donatello stood with three pairs of eyes staring at him with utter confusion.

"DNA? What the heck do you need my DNA for?" Raphael sputtered at his tallest brother.

Donnie held up the textbook. "I'm going to experiment with the mutagen by exposing it to DNA to it and observing how it reacts. My hypothesis is that the mutagen has some kind of behavioral pattern; I just need to figure out what it is. And if I start with a normal turtle's DNA, then expose it to mutagen, we should see mutated DNA that looks similar to ours. That is, if my hypothesis is correct."

Leo looked at Donnie pensively. "How will just knowing what the mutagen does help you reverse it?"

"I'm not sure yet. But observing the behavior brings me one step closer to preventing it. I think I can even create some kind of mutagen vaccine. Something like that would keep anyone with the vaccine from mutating if they were ever exposed to mutagen," Donnie rambled.

Raphael and Mikey looked at each other in confusion, but Leonardo was listening intently. He spoke, "If we could somehow distribute a mutagen vaccine to the city, mutants would never be a problem again. That would be pretty incredible, Don." He paused. "But wait. Doesn't a vaccine just prevent people from getting sick?"

Donnie started rubbing his chin. "Yeah, that's where I hit a wall, but I think I might be able to do some kind of reverse engineering with the vaccine. If I can figure out how to prevent the symptoms, maybe there's a way to completely reverse them!"

Raph frowned. "I don't know, Don. Feels like kind of a long shot, and I don't even know what the heck you're talking about."

Mikey grinned at the tall turtle and slung an arm across his shoulders. "I think you can do it, Donnie. You're the smartest guy I know! If there's a way, you can find it!"

Donatello smiled at his youngest brother's faith and enthusiasm. "Thanks, Mikey. I really think I can do it. But it's going to take a long time, and a ton of experiments."

"So, how do I give you my DNA?" Raph asked, still unsure of his brother's intentions.

"Just a bit of saliva from you and Spike. I'll grab a couple swabs," Donnie said as he headed back into the lab. Leo watched him disappear behind the large metal door. He turned to his brothers, glancing over his shoulder to make sure Donnie was still out of earshot.

"Do you really think it'll work?" he asked in a hushed voice.

Mikey made a _pbbt_ sound and said, "Why not? Don knows everything about everything!"

Raphael folded his arms across his plastron. "All this nerd talk is giving me a headache. But he seemed pretty confident. I bet he'll have it in a month." Raph walked away from his brothers towards the bedroom to grab his beloved pet turtle. Leo remained where he was, still mulling over his brother's ideas. He was still not fully convinced of Donnie's plans to find a vaccine. He frowned and tried to understand Don's thinking.

Raphael and Donatello returned to the main part of the lair at the same moment, and Don quickly collected DNA samples from his brother and his pet. He had a giddy expression on his face as he placed the swabs into test tubes and sealed them shut.

"I can't wait to get started with my experiments. I'm finally going to get to watch the mutagen up close and see how it reacts!"

Leo smirked. "Yep, right after training."

A chorus of groans followed.

Donatello split from the group immediately after Splinter released them from morning training. He could hardly contain his excitement as he settled in at the lab station with the DNA samples from Raphael and Spike. Preparing his fluorescent microscope, he swabbed a few petri dishes and slides with both sets of DNA and labeled them. He observed and took notes extensively before comparing the sets side by side. Donnie pored over them with great care. He compared and contrasted the differences between the mutant DNA and that of his normal turtle pet. Hours after he first sat down, he was finally ready to use the mutagen.

Donnie put on protective goggles and retrieved a mutagen cannister. He poured a small amount into a beaker then resealed the container. Grabbing a petri dish with Spike's DNA, Donnie took a deep breath.

"Here we go. Finally going to understand this mutagen," he said to himself.

He drew a tiny bit of mutagen up into a dropper and hovered it over the DNA dish. Taking one last breath, he squeezed just enough to let out a single drop of mutagen. It bubbled and hissed as it hit the petri dish and Donnie watched the reaction, fascinated. After a moment, the bubbling ceased and the liquid seemed to evaporate. He used a cotton swab to collect the now mutated DNA and placed it carefully on a microscope slide.

An uncontrollable smile spread across his face as the microscope warmed up. He put the slide in place and looked through the viewfinder. As the DNA came in to focus, Donnie's brow furrowed in deep focus. Notes flowed from his pen as quickly as his pen could , he began to frown more and more.

"They don't match," he said, astonished. He sat back and scratched his head. "These nucleotide sequences are not quite the same..." Donnie stared at his notes, waiting for the reason to jump out at him. "Something is miss-" He smacked a hand to his forehead.

He slid his homemade laptop over towards him and quickly searched for a coded sequence of an average human's DNA. "Duh, we aren't just turtles; there's human DNA in us, too. I bet those sections of unmatched codon sequences will match a human's DNA!"

Out in the Lair, three brothers were startled by a sudden "YES!" muffled from behind a large metal door. Raph, Leo and Mikey smiled at each other before Donatello burst into the room.

"Guys!" he shouted. "The mutagen creates a near perfect amalgamation of two sets of DNA! Somehow, it must know which codons are important to human life and which from turtles are replaceable! It's amazing!" Donnie grinned at his brothers who were not nearly as excited as their purple-clad brother.

Raph looked up over his comic book. "That's great Donnie, but what does that mean for a retro-mutagen?"

"Now I just have to figure out which sequences those are, the important ones I mean. To turn Kirby back, I'll need to code his mutated bat DNA and engineer a substance that will replace the lost pieces of his original, human DNA. It's so simple! Well, in concept."

Mikey hopped up from the couch and hugged his tallest brother. "See, I told you guys he could do it! Raph said it'd take you a month," he said.

Donnie smiled proudly as Leo walked over to him.

"So now you just need Kirby's DNA, right?" Leo asked.

"Yep. I'll need your help to get some kind of sample from him. I can always extract the DNA from his hair, but it would be awesome if I could get saliva."

Mikey groaned. "Gross."

Leonardo nodded. "No problem. We'll just attract him with food and trap him in the warehouse again."

Raphael snorted. "Right, because that worked out so well the last time."

"We can handle it this time, Raph. We know what he's like now," Leo rebutted over his shoulder. "So, what about human DNA? Can you just use anyone?"

The grin immediately faded from Donnie's face at that question. He started fidgeting nervously. "Not exactly. Human DNA is extremely varied. The same basic amino acids and sequences are there, but traits like eye color, height and even some aspects of personality are completely individual. He wouldn't be quite the same if I tried to use someone else's DNA." Donatello's head dropped. "The good thing is that I might be able to use April's DNA. As his daughter, fifty percent of her DNA is exactly like his. She might contain just enough of those crucial sequences for me to piece back together Kirby's original code."

Mikey thought for a moment before asking, "So how are you gonna get April's DNA? She hates us now."

Donnie's expression saddened. "I know, Mikey. But if we want her back, I have to make this retro-mutagen." He paused for a moment before hardening himself and looking straight at his brothers. "I'm going to sneak into her apartment and get that DNA without her ever knowing about it. And I'm doing it tonight."

Mikey and Leo made shocked faces at each other and Raph looked over the top of his comic book, stunned. He spoke, "Donnie, I don't think that's a good idea. At all."

"Raph, I have to do this. It was our fault he got mutated in the first place, so it's our responsibility to return him to normal. And I'm going to do everything in my power to get April back, too."


	5. When the Sky Pours Down like a Fountain

**This chapter has been in my head from the infancy of this story. I knew this was how I wanted everything to go down, and now we're finally here! So excited to hear your feedback, and again, I really hope you enjoy the story!**

Terrified.  
That was the word that came to mind as Donatello found himself pacing across the roof of April's apartment building. His stomach was in his throat as his footfalls made tiny splashes in the puddles left by the torrential rain. The longer he stood, the more he processed the possible outcomes of sneaking into the building. And of course, it had to be raining. Being frozen and soaked to the bone was simply a bonus.

Donnie already knew April was not home, but he still felt incredibly nervous as he looked over the roof edge at the fire escape. He took a deep breath and silently lowered himself onto the metal framing. Donnie drew his short blade as he approached the window. He used it to easily flip open the lock. He pushed the pane open with a boisterous squeak and gingerly climbed into April's room.

The room smelled faintly of vanilla and was illuminated only by a small lamp on her bedside table. Her bed was slightly disheveled, but the rest of the room was near spotless. Donatello looked around, hoping a hairbrush would be sitting in plain sight so he could collect a DNA sample and get out of dodge. He moved around the room, his brown eyes glanced over every corner and item.

"Ugh, nothing," he said just above a whisper. He navigated down the dark hallway, feeling along the walls for a switch. Instead, he found the bathroom and flicked on its light. It, too, was spotless. He pulled open drawer after drawer, finding nothing but two toothbrushes and plenty of extra hair bands; unfortunately, none carried any stray hairs.

He heard a small, metallic clicking sound coming from further down the hall. Donatello froze and his heart beat soared. A door opened. His heart was beating in his burning hot ears. The door closed.

Donnie rushed silently down the hall back to April's room before he started hearing footsteps, and he cursed himself for waiting so long on the roof. He was at the window, ready to make his escape when he heard the footsteps cease.

"Yep, I'm home now. Think you can handle the rest of the trig on your own?" said an all too familiar voice. She paused. "Okay, good. I'll see you Monday then. Bye."

Donatello's chest tightened when he remembered how the window squeaked. He knew he could not escape without making a noise, and his large watery footprints were a dead giveaway that he had been there. He was frozen yet again. For a brilliant scientist, he sure made some stupid mistakes.

Donnie heard April open the refrigerator, then close it and crack open a can of pop. His mind raced, not knowing what to do. Should he escape and abandon his mission? He could always try another night. Should he just be stealthy and somehow find a DNA sample? The decision was made for him when April went into the bathroom and shut the door. Donnie heard the shower kick on, and sighed a breath of relief. At least he had a little bit of time.

Donnie stepped away from the window and decided to look around her room once again. He filed through her bedside table, finding only a composition notebook and pen. Her desk yielded only basic office supplies and a sudoku book. No hairbrush to be found.

After listening to make sure the water was still running, he ventured back down the hall, now lighted by the kitchen lamp. Now that he could see, he made his way to the room directly across from the bathroom. He turned on the light to find a well-decorated, masculine-looking room. A thin layer of dust took away the shine from the fancy wood armoire. The bed was perfectly made up on one side, and slept-in on the other. Kirby's bedroom.

He was struck at the sight of the bed, knowing April had deliberately chosen to avoid the room after her father had been mutated. His heart sunk as Donnie approached the bed slowly. He ran his large hand over the simple duvet and sheets. He physically ached at the thought of Kirby O'Neil, now a tragically mutated bat. He could only imagine the kind of pain April felt, having to pass by the room each and every day, knowing her father was not home.

And then he saw it. A tiny, unassuming red hair on the pillow. The perfect specimen.  
Donnie grinned and reached for a tiny plastic bag. He carefully placed the hair inside, sealed it and put it back into his belt. He had only gone after April's DNA because he had assumed it would have been easier to get, but he was elated to have found a tiny sample from her father.

"Perfect! Now I can cater my studies directly to Kirby!" Donatello had been so caught in the moment of discovery, he managed to miss the sound of the shower turning off. Just as he was turning the light off to leave the room, the bathroom door swung open, revealing April in fleece lounge pants and a camisole. Donnie's heart completely stopped and his body froze again. And so did April's.

Their eyes met in stunned silence. She dropped the towel she had been drying her hair with. Donatello's mind was spinning with excuses, ideas, and escape plans. He immediately wished life was like a video game, and he could simply revert back to his last save point and erase the mistakes he had made. But he could only stand there like a deer in headlights, immobilized by April's sudden appearance.

April's mouth attempted to form words. Donnie watched her face cycle through several emotions, from utter surprise, to fear, to rage. Finally, her lip trembled and curled into a frown and her eyes began to form tears. She burst into a cry and lunged at Donatello.

He closed his eyes, bracing for an impact of fist against face, but was met only with a whimpering April wrapped around his neck.

"Donnie," she said through her cries. "I am so sorry. For everything." Her grasp tightened and Donnie reciprocated the embrace after the shock wore off. He could hardly comprehend her reaction to his invasion of her home. Never had he expected she would throw herself into his arms. But he could not have been more relieved.

"I'm sorry too, April." The pair remained silent in their embrace as Donnie's heart rate slowed back to normal. He placed a hand on the back of her still damp head and cradled her convulsing body in his arms. Her cries finally started to subside and she lowered herself from tip toes back to the floor. Donatello reached out to wipe the tears from her face as they stood in the hallway, exchanging no words.

April closed her eyes and started to calm her breathing as Donnie wiped the moisture from her cheeks. He looked down at her, mind still processing her reaction.  
Finally she spoke. "Donnie, I have no idea why you're here, but I'm so glad that you are." She stared intensely into his russet eyes. "I was so wrong, Don. I should never have gotten mad at you. It was all just an accident. I was so stupid..." She trailed off and snapped her eyes closed to avoid tearing up again.

Words continued to fail Donatello. All he could say was, "It's okay, April... It's okay." She looked up at him, blinking away the tears.

"Aren't you mad at me? For leaving?"

He stared back at her, taken aback by her question. Donnie firmly put his hands on her shoulders and spoke softly. "I was never mad at you, April. I was just..." He searched for the right words. "Hurt because I thought I'd never see you again. And I thought you would never forgive me."

April's hands reached up to rest on his wrists. "I was hurt too, Don. I was completely blinded by how hurt I was. You have no idea how painful it is to lose your father... Twice. But even being so devastated by that, I _never_ should have yelled at you the way I did. Donnie, I'm so, so sorry..." She trailed off and fell into a fit of tears all over again. Donatello pulled her into his chest, enveloping her in his arms. She tucked her arms into his plastron and rested her cheek against him as the tears took over. She quietly squeaked out, "I've missed you so much, Don."

When he had been pacing back and forth on the roof, letting the rain wash over him mere minutes before, Donnie would never have expected he would find April cowering in his grasp in the middle of the hallway. Their meeting was completely unexpected, but completely welcome. Donatello closed his eyes as her trembling began to subside. He gently stroked her damp hair, faintly smelling her minty shampoo. A roll of thunder shook the windows in the modest apartment.

The tall turtle held April tightly, savoring their closeness until her sobs turned into just sniffles. She took a deep breath and a step back so she could see him, offering a weak smile.

"Sorry about my little breakdown there. I just really didn't expect to see you." She wiped the remaining tears from her face.

Donnie gave her a signature gap-toothed grin. "I honestly didn't expect to see you either. But I have some good news, and a really good explanation about why I snuck in."

April giggled. "Well, I'm definitely looking forward to hearing that story, Don. And it had better be a good one if you got to see me cry like that."


	6. Together Alone

Donatello reminded April of the cello she played as a kid. She despised it sometimes, hating the fact that it required so much practice. Music had never come easily to her. Most of the time, the instrument sat in a lonely corner of her bedroom, gathering dust. Every now and again however, she would crave its sound. She would pull the bow slowly across the strings, closing her eyes at its dreamy song. The rich vibrations filled her ears, and she would wonder why she never practiced.

When Donnie had unexpectedly shown up in her apartment, it was like returning to her cello after an all-too-long hiatus. Seeing him, hearing his voice again was like the captivating sound of the bow and strings, together once again in perfect harmony.

The two sat on April's bed as Donnie told her excitedly about his progress with the retro-mutagen. His eyes lit up as he went into excruciating detail about his methodology and notes. April never minded his flair for overexplaining, though.

_ A person is never as beautiful as when they are talking about something they love_.

The thought found its way into her head as Donnie gestured with enthusiasm about nucleotide sequences. A pleasant sensation spread from April's stomach, like taking the first sip of hot chocolate. Warmth tingled from spine to fingertip as she watched his eyes twinkle. Her heart rate quickened each time they held eye contact for too long. She could not help but smile at him as he finished his speech.

He took one last breath and said, "So, that's why I snuck in. I want to get your dad back to normal as quickly as possible. I hate that you've had to spend so many nights in this apartment alone." He looked at her with sad eyes.

"Thank you, Donnie." April smiled warmly at him and laid a hand on his, making her stomach flutter briefly. "I can't believe you've already put in all this work on a retro-mutagen. I _knew_ you could do it. Even when I was mad at everything, I _knew_ somehow, some way, you would make a retro-mutagen." She paused and looked into his eyes. "You're awesome, you know that?" She blushed as he giggled nervously.

"All in a day's work. I just know how important family is. I mean, family is literally all I have," he said.

April placed a hand under her chin. "You have me, too."

Donatello looked at her with adoration and spoke softly. "You _are_ family, April."

The combination of his sparkling eyes and the sweetness in his voice made her heart flitter wildly. She felt anxious, excited and scared all at once. She thought of Casey Jones. He made her feel anxious and a little scared sometimes, but somehow this was... _Different._

"So, what have you been doing lately?" he asked, changing the subject to keep things from getting awkward.

She sighed. "Well, not a whole lot really. Just trying to have a normal life, I guess."

Donnie swallowed nervously. "Have you, uh... Made any new friends?"

April made a questioning face, wondering why he seemed uncomfortable all of the sudden. "Well, I've been tutoring this guy in my trig class. I guess you could say he's a friend."

The turtle played with his hands. "Yeah? What's he like?"

"He's... Interesting." She searched Donnie's face for the reason behind his questions. "He's pretty rough around the edges, but he seems nice enough. I don't really know him very well yet; I've only been tutoring him for less than a week."

Donatello seemed to relax a bit after she spoke. "Well, good then! I'm glad everything is starting to get back to normal."

She chuckled. "My life will never be normal, Donnie. Not as long as I have four mutant turtles as my best friends."

"Are you okay with that? Not having a normal life?" he asked tentatively.

April crossed her legs and leaned into her hands, smiling at Donatello. "You know, I've thought about that, and I've decided that being normal is boring. Sure, I could do without the kunoichi with a personal vendetta and raging mutants on the streets of Manhattan, but without you four? I'd be bored out of my mind."

The turtle smiled back at her, a sincerity shining in his deep brown eyes. April was drawn into them as if they were magnets. There was a moment when she felt a spark in her chest. It was small, but she knew she felt it. Donnie was not just some boy from her high school. He was not just the cute guy in class every girl had a crush on. He was genuine, kind-hearted, brave, loyal... Everything.

"We've been lost without you, April! Mikey has spent all his energy on Raph and me, since you aren't there to let him down easy," Donnie snickered at the thought.

April continued to stare into his eyes, whether he was looking back or not. "I can't wait to see them again. I'm definitely making a trip to the lair tomorrow. It's a Saturday, so I can be there all day to help you with your experiments! And maybe you can help me with my advanced chem?"

Donnie's eyes lit up. "Of course I'll help you! And you'll help me? That would be great! There's so much I've got to show you! I took tons of notes over what I-"

"Don't tell me everything yet! Save it for tomorrow!" She tilted her head and grinned.

Before Donatello could respond, his T-phone rang. "That's probably Leo wondering where the heck I am." He answered, "Donatello."

April could hear Leo's muffled voice through the phone and could not help but smile at the sound of her friend. She wanted to go back to the lair tonight and see them, but it was already plenty late, not to mention pouring the rain.

"Don't worry Leo, everything's fine. I've got some good news, too!" He flashed a gap-toothed smile at April. "I'll be home in ten." He paused to listen to his brother. "I'll tell you when I get there, but trust me, it's _great_ news." Donnie hung up the phone with his brother and stood from the bed. "Well, I guess I'd better get back to the lair for tonight."

Her heart sunk a little. April stood up and walked over to the window. "Yeah, it is kind of late. But I'll see you in the morning?"

Donnie joined her at the window and pushed it open, letting the rain drizzle on the sill. "Yep, I'm looking forward to it. Mikey, Raph and Leo will be happy to see you, too. And again, sorry I busted into your place." He grinned sweetly and started to step through the window.

"Wait," April said. She grabbed his arm and pulled herself into his plastron. He obliged, wrapping his strong arms around her.

Just above a whisper, he said, "It's good to have you back April. We missed you."

She smiled and snuggled into the crook of his next. "Missed you, too."

Donatello stroked her back lightly before stepping through the window onto the fire escape. April watched him as he effortlessly lept up to the roof before hesitating. He turned back to her and waved, just like he had the first night they met. She raised a hand back at him, then he disappeared into the rainy night.

April stood by the window and watched the drizzle accumulate on the sill. She took a cleansing breath, closed her eyes and smiled to herself. Though he was gone, she still felt his embrace, his strong arms wrapped around her like a child's blanket. His presence had been comforting and soothing after a week of being without both her father and her best friends. She closed her window and went back to her bed, crawling between the soft sheets.

She longed to hear Donnie's voice again. It had almost felt like a dream, but she was elated that it had been real. As she snuggled into her bed, she rolled onto her side and reached over to her bedside table for the T-phone she had shoved to the back of the drawer.

_ Just a quick text to make sure he got home safely. No harm in that, _she thought._ And maybe to say I miss him already? Or is that too forward?_

She rolled onto her back and turned the phone on, hearing its familiar tune. Just as it showed the home screen, a message popped up.

5 NEW VOICEMAILS.

April's stomach immediately sank. She knew they would all be from Donatello, and she knew they would all be begging her to come back. She stared at the small bouncing envelope on the screen, trying to decide if she should listen to them or not. Her internal debate waged for a few moments before she closed her eyes and hit "PLAY."

She kept her eyes closed as the voicemail announced the date and time the message was sent. The night her dad was mutated.

"April, it's Donnie... You have no idea how sorry we are about everything, April. Please, just answer your phone. I feel sick just knowing how stupid of a mistake we made... But April, I promise you, I will find a way to turn him back. I don't care how long it takes me, I don't care what I have to do... But I promise you. We'll get him back. I just hope you can find a way to forgive us."

Her eyes welled up, hearing how desperate Donnie sounded, how broken his voice was. The next message began playing.

"It's me again, April. Just wanted to see if you were doing okay... I've already started doing some research about how to turn your dad back. Hope you're doing alright. Call me back."

"Hey, it's Donnie. It's been a few days now and I was hoping to hear from you... But I doubt that's going to happen. Look, I know I've already said how sorry we are, but I just want you to know that it's true. We're sorry, and we miss you, April. It makes me sick to know that you're alone. Please, April. Please forgive us, and let me make it up to you."

"Hi April. I thought I'd let you know that I've been running all kinds of experiments with the mutagen. I don't know how much progress I'm making, but I think I can get it figured out. By the way, it's going to be cold and rainy for the rest of the week, so... Stay warm. Bye."

"April, I know you're probably ignoring these messages, and that's fine. But I just wanted to say how much you mean to us. The lair feels pretty empty without you. We all miss you... End of new messages. To replay, press four."

By the end of the final message, April felt sick to her stomach. Hearing the deteriorating hopefulness in his voice made her feel guilty all over again. Her first instinct was to call him immediately and apologize profusely. She stopped herself when she realized she might end up crying again, and she had had enough of that for one week.

"Tomorrow," she said to herself.

She fired a text message to DONNIE BOY in her contact list.

_April: Home safe and sound?_

Within a minute, she had a response.

_Donnie Boy: Yep, just got in. A little damp and chilly but no worse for the wear :)_

She smiled at the face at the end of the message.

_April: Good. I'm excited to spend the day in the lair with you tomorrow!_

Before she pressed "send" she deleted "with you." She did not want to seem overeager or flirty... Even though she did want to flirt a little.

_Donnie Boy: I'm excited too. Should I tell the guys you're coming over, or should we surprise them?_

_ April: Hmm... You should tell them we talked everything out, but don't tell them I'm coming over. I want to see their surprised faces!_

_ Donnie Boy: Okay, will do. See you in the morning then!_

_ April: See you in the morning. Good night Donnie :)_

She hit send before she had the chance to retract the smiley face at the end of the message. April rolled over and placed the phone on the bedside table. She had her eyes closed for only an instant before she received one last text.

_Donnie Boy: Night April :) :)_

She was unsure if the exchange of smiley faces via text message really counted as flirting, but she simply smiled to herself and cuddled into her sheets further as the soft pitter-patter of raindrops lulled her to sleep.


	7. Miles to Go Before Sleep

"_Itadakimasu," _said four turtle voices in unison.

Donatello's cheeks were sore from smiling. He could hardly wait until April arrived, and he could barely hold his tongue to keep from telling his brothers she was on her way. All four of the turtles had been elated that she was no longer angry with them, but none were as relieved and happy as the turtle in purple.

The brothers dug into the huge breakfast spread Michelangelo had prepared, per their Saturday tradition. Raphael drowned his biscuits in gravy and Leonardo shoveled syrup-drenched pancakes into his mouth. Donnie enjoyed his scrambled eggs, but could not help himself from glancing over to the turnstiles every so often, hoping a redheaded figure would come through them.

Not long after the four sat down to their breakfast, a faint squeak sounded from the entrance to the abandoned subway station. Donatello looked up to find April with her backpack slung across her shoulders. She waved and put a finger to her mouth, wanting to surprise the other three turtles who were yet to see her. Donnie smiled and took a bite of toast, pretending not to have seen her. He saw her creep silently closer out of the corner of his eye.

"Surprise!" she yelled as she leapt into the kitchen.

"April!" three voices shouted back to her. All four boys stood to welcome her, and Mikey rushed to her side, begging for a hug. Donatello hung back as she hugged each of his brothers one by one.

"Good to have you back, kid," Raph said, trying to hide his happiness.

"Yeah, Donnie said you guys talked and everything, but we didn't know you were coming over for breakfast! I would have made more!" Mikey frowned at the massive spread filling their kitchen table.

April laughed. "I think this is plenty, Mikey. Anyway, I had a granola bar on the way over."

Leo fixed her a plate piled high with all Mikey's creations. "That'll never be enough if you're joining us for training. Come on, there's plenty!" He set the plate at the head of the table, between Raph and Donatello.

She pulled up an extra chair and looked over the plate with a smile. "Well, it does look pretty fantastic, and since there's plenty of it..." She trailed off as she shoved a spoonful of eggs into her mouth.

The boys returned to their seats as a deep, gravelly voice called from the dojo. "Did I hear correctly?" The oversized rat appeared in the doorway with a warm smile.

"April, it is a lovely sight indeed to see you once again in our home, my child. We have all felt your absence," Splinter said, taking a seat at the opposite end of the table.

April bowed her head at her sensei. "I know, and I'm really sorry about that. I-"

Splinter cut her off. "There is no need for apology, Miss O'Neil. We all understand the circumstances you have endured. Let us simply enjoy one another's company and forget about harsh words of the past."

She smiled. "Hai, sensei. And thank you."

The six sat together, enjoying their breakfast. Donatello looked around the table at his siblings, father and best friend. He smiled once again, seeing them laughing and hearing April's voice next to him. They felt complete once again. His eyes could not help but rest on April. Her titian hair was pulled back into a familiar short ponytail. He smiled at the thought of seeing it down for the first time the night before. Her cobalt blue eyes shone as she joked and chatted with the brothers. She wore an expression of joy and relief.

Splinter was first to finish his breakfast and rise from the table. "I shall meet you in the dojo for training in ten minutes, my sons. And you are welcome to join us as well April."

"Absolutely, Master Splinter! I hope I haven't lost my touch," she said.

Splinter left the kitchen and headed to the dojo. Donatello started clearing the empty plates from the table as his brothers stood.

"So," Leonardo started. "Who wants to get their butt kicked today? Raph, you up for a little _taijutsu_?"

Raph snorted and handed Donnie his plate. "Yeah, right. Because you know you can't beat me when I have my sais!"

Leo and Raph continued to argue good-naturedly as they headed to the dojo. Mikey finished clearing the plates from the table and put them next to the sink for Donatello before bouncing out of the room. Donnie scraped off the few remaining morsels and stacked the plates neatly before turning around and leaning against the counter. April remained seated at the table. Her eyes were closed and her head was slightly bowed.

"I know we've said it a thousand times, but we're really glad to have you back," he said quietly so only she could hear.

April slowly opened her eyes and looked around. Her eyes landed at Donnie's with a soft expression, making his cheeks flush. "Feels like home."

She stood from her stool and walked over to Donnie. She stood dangerously close to him, playing with her hands. His heart raced a bit at their closeness. He could see each and every fleck in her blue eyes. He had never noticed how long and wispy her eyelashes were until now, making him smile to himself.

"Donnie..." She paused. "When I turned my T-phone back on last night, I heard all the voicemails you left me..." She trailed off.

Donatello's stomach tightened into knots. He had almost forgotten about all the messages he had left while she was gone. He felt embarrassed, remembering how desperate and lost he had felt when leaving them.

She continued, "They made me feel horrible all over again. I feel so stupid about this whole thing. I wish I would have listened to them before, then maybe I would have come back sooner-"

"April, it's okay," Donnie interrupted and put a hand on her shoulder. "You're here now, and that's all that matters to us. We know you were upset, and we completely understand. And we acted pretty stupid, too."

April leaned into him, resting her head on his plastron. He held her body close to him, hoping she could not hear how fast his heart was racing. "Thank you... For understanding what I was going through. I hope we can all just forget about this whole thing and get my dad back to normal."

"Of course. I'll be happy to have you help me with the retro-mutagen. We'll bring him back, together." Donnie closed his eyes, secretly praying April would never leave his arms.

Mikey popped his head back into the kitchen. "Are you guys coming or wha- Oh, sorry. Did I interrupt?" He wore a devious expression.

Donatello's eyes shot open and his cheeks were set ablaze. April slowly turned around with one arm still around Donnie's shell. "No, Mikey. We were just headed your way. Give us a couple seconds, okay?" April spoke with patience, and without embarrassment.

Mikey smirked. "Alright you two," he said in a sing-songy voice.

April smiled and rolled her eyes, looking back to Donnie. "So, do you want to get working on the retro-mutagen right after training?"

He looked down at her, realizing her arm was still around his shell. "Yeah, that would be great. We've got a long way to go, so the earlier we get started, the better. And I can help you with your homework whenever you want, too."

"Good. I guess we better get in the dojo. I don't want to have to do push-up's for being late!" She left his side and walked out of the kitchen without a look back. Donnie remained frozen in place for a few moments, still relishing the feeling of April against his plastron.

He slowly made his way to the dojo, hoping he would not be too distracted by April's presence to focus on his kata.


	8. All is Dream and Everything is Real

**My best ideas almost always come to me in the shower. This is yet another of those. Also, my cat Zoey sat next to me nearly the entire time I was writing this. Perhaps she's an Apritello fan as well! Enjoy! There will be an author's note at the end of this explaining my choices as well.**

"Alright, just a quick spin in the centrifuge and we'll have some results!" Donnie placed several glass tubes in the device and punched some buttons before it came whirring to life, nearly overpowering the sounds of the deluge on the streets above. April sighed from across the work bench.

"Donnie, how quick is a 'quick spin?' Because I'm seriously struggling with this chem homework." April's head hung and she slouched over her textbook.

Donnie slid his goggles onto the top of his head and pulled up a stool right next to April. "Twelve minutes. I've got time. What's the problem?" He leaned in alarmingly close to her, hovering over her shoulder. Her heart rate picked up the tiniest amount. Trying to ignore the sensation, she slid her notebook in front of him.

"Okay, so we've been trying to balance ionic equations, and most of them are really simple. But there are a few ions that I just can't figure out. Like this one. What the heck is that? Why does it have more than one element?" She scrunched her face into a frustrated expression as Donnie looked over the question.

He smiled and said, "That's the ammonium cation. It's a polyatomic ion."

April raised an eyebrow. "How was I supposed to know that?"

"Well..." Donnie looked back at the book and flipped a few pages. "There's a chart on page 121." He smiled at her patiently.

April dropped her head into her book with a _thump._ "My brain is totally fried," she grumbled. "I've been staring at this book for way too long."

Donatello placed a gentle hand on her back and April felt a small surge of _something_ flow through her whole body. "Don't worry about it, April. You're smart. You'll get it."

She raised her head to look at her turtle friend. He wore a warm and helpful expression that gave her the sense that she was not as dumb as she felt. "Will you help me then?"

He chuckled. "That's what I'm here for, right? I'll warn you though, I'm not going to do the whole thing for you. You need to know it all for yourself, or you'll fail the test."

A smile spread across her face. Of course he would make her do the work. But he was absolutely right; she did not want to fail the test either. Donatello straightened her notes flush next to her textbook. "Alright, like I said, this one is ammonium. You'll want to remember that one; it's pretty common. Instead of balancing the equation by separating or combining elements, treat the polyatomics as single units that can't be broken up. Okay?"

She tilted her head and scoured her notes. "So the whole ammonium ion is one chunk that you don't take apart into its smaller pieces?"

"Exactly! Simple, right? So you just follow the rules like you normally would and balance the equations that way." Donnie rested his elbow on the bench and propped his cheek up in his hand.

April looked into his deep brown eyes and smirked. "It's really that simple? Wow, you made that sound so much easier than my chem teacher. She went into all this detail about the nomenclature and _why_ things were the way they were. I don't care, just teach me how to do it!" She paused. "You're a great teacher, Don."

She caught a small flash of pink rise up in his cheeks before he broke eye contact and glanced down at the notebook. "Thanks, April. So what else can I help you with?"

"Well," she started. "I have this long assignment of equation balancing. And the second half makes complete sense now that I know those are polyatomic ions."

Donnie scooted his stool out and stood up. "See, you don't even need my help!" April quickly grabbed his arm and dragged him back onto the stool. Her stomach fluttered at the touch.

"Oh, you aren't going anywhere. I definitely need your help! Now, what the heck is this ion?" April pointed to a problem in the textbook. Donatello leaned over her shoulder, brushing it briefly.

"Acetate. That's a weird one, because it is actually two compounds that make one ion," he said.

She frowned and tapped her pencil. "Is that why there are two carbons? Because it's actually two different compounds?"

He nodded. "Yeah, and that notation helps to show the structure of the molecule. They do that a lot with organic chemistry, but I imagine that's still a long way off for your class."

April snorted as she worked furiously to balance the equation. "Yeah, I don't know that we'll ever get that far. Not at the rate we're going now. Okay, does this equation look correct to you?" She passed her notes over to the turtle.

Donatello examined them for a moment. "Almost. One of the charges isn't quite right, but your math is perfect."

"Which charge is wrong?" she asked.

Donnie smirked at her. "I'm not telling you; then you wouldn't be doing to work yourself, and that's cheating." April rolled her eyes playfully and consulted the chart in her book. She focused intensely for a few moments, scanning over her notes and the text.

"Aha! It was the hydroxide, right? I forgot it was only a negative one." She turned to him for approval, his face only a few inches away from hers.

The closeness and eye contact made her heart rate quicken more by the moment. Time was frozen, much like when she had found him in her apartment. This time, they did not sit in stunned silence; it was a comfortable quietness, complimented by the hum of the centrifuge and the gentle patter of the rain. "See, not so tough, are they?" he said.

April grinned proudly, maintaining eye contact. "Not when you have a genius to check your work." His eyes burned into her for a few moments. They always seemed to remind her of chocolate-covered cherries. Not completely brown; just a hint of intriguing red.

She turned back to her text to continue her homework. As she furiously wrote out the next equation, her bangs fell into her face, but she was too focused to mess with them. An oversized hand reached over to her, gently brushing the hair out of her eyes. His touch was as light as a feather and it stunned April as she listened to her heart beat fiercely in her ears. She looked at Donatello, wide-eyed for an instant. The pair remained locked in a staring contest for a few moments. The sweet and delicate gesture had taken her by total surprise. Her insides had been sent on a wild trip, from nervous to elated to shocked and back to nervous again. She was instantly aware of all her surroundings. She heard every single raindrop that met the pavement, each roll of rib-shaking thunder. She could see every fleck of red in Donatello's eyes, each green freckle that dotted his cheeks, every last stitch in his purple bandana. Suddenly, her cheeks felt sunburnt. Her ears were on fire. Her stomach was in turmoil within her. She had the strange urge to feel his skin against hers, to lay her head against his plastron.

The centrifuge made a small ding and its humming ceased. April and Donnie quickly snapped out of the short trance they had been in.

"Results are in," he said in a gentle voice, hardly above a whisper.

"Yeah," she replied, mind still numb from the hypersensitivity she experienced.

Donnie pushed his stool back and walked around the workbench to his centrifuge. He lowered the goggles back onto his eyes and carefully removed each glass tube from the device. April watched him work as he placed each one on a rack. As he jotted down observation notes as fast as his hand could write, April turned her face back towards her assignment. But her focus was still completely on Donatello. From the corner of her eye, she could see him scribbling furiously, his tongue barely sticking out of his mouth in intense concentration. She stole glances at him when he turned his back and grabbed some tools from the drawers behind him. She traced the intricate pattern of his shell with her eyes, the diamond shapes unique and elaborate.

"Earth to April?" Donatello was smiling and waving at her.

"Oh, sorry, were you saying something?" She blushed.

He chuckled. "I asked if your next problem was giving you any trouble. What were you staring at?"

She blushed even harder. "Oh, um, well... Your shell, actually." She looked back down at her book, embarrassed that he had caught her staring. "The pattern is so intricate. It's... beautiful." She spoke softly, nearly saying the last word at whisper volume.

But Donnie definitely heard it. He seemed caught off guard, tripping over his words for a moment. "Uh... Well, thanks." He smiled and continued working. "Turtle shells are all unique, like a human fingerprint. The patterns are all different for each individual."

She looked back up at him, now completely consumed by his work again. "That's so interesting," she said sincerely, smiling at the furrowed expression he always seemed to make while he was working. Her eyes fell on his mouth once again, his tongue peaking out as he sealed a test tube shut with a stopper. She caught herself staring again, but this time she was thinking about something... different.

She had kissed a boy only once when she was a freshman in high school. It was just a silly boy she thought was cute and he happened to think the same of her. It was a fleeting kiss, just a brief brush of lips, but there was still a pleasant sensation of warmth and giddiness that she remembered like it was yesterday. Suddenly, staring at Donatello, glancing at his lips, seeing his deep, caring eyes... She longed to feel that same sensation again.

In that instant, she threw off every single insecurity. There was no hiding how she felt anymore. He was something incredible. Brilliant. Kind-hearted. Protective. Beautiful.

Her stomach fluttered as she played scenes in her head. She longed to curl up to him on the couch, to rest her head on his plastron. She pictured what they two of them would look like kissing. She daydreamed about how his lips would feel against hers. There would be magic in that moment, she knew it. She would feel like they were lifting off the ground. She wanted it more than she could explain. He was more than just a teenage boy. Donatello was something else entirely.

"Whenever you're done, can you come help me with this next problem?" she asked, trying to calm the nervousness swelling within her. She could not control how badly she wanted to kiss him, to relive that sweet sensation, but with someone she really, truly cared about. So she was going to do it... If she could muster the guts.

"Give me just a second." Donatello sealed the final tube and placed it on the rack. He removed his goggles and walked around the lab bench back to April. Donnie sat on the stool next to April and scooted towards her. "It's number twelve. I've tried it a few different ways, but it doesn't seem to make much sense to me." She slid her notebook over to him.

"Whoa," he said with a laugh, looking over her work. "Kiss, April."

Her heart stopped and she felt his eyes fall on her. She looked at him, stunned for a moment. "Um, what?" she asked.

"Keep it simple, stupid? Well, you're not stupid, but you made this one way more complicated than it needed to be. See how all your coefficients are divisible by three?"

She relaxed and fell into a nervous laugh. "Oh, duh. That was simple."

She erased the numbers and reduced them properly, then moved on to the next question. "Don't go anywhere though, Don. How about I make you a deal? You help me finish my homework real quick, then I can help you analyze your results. Sound good?"

"Sounds good," he said.

She started writing down the next equation but could not seem to concentrate on anything except her turtle friend being only feet away from her. "Whoa, hold on there," he said and placed a hand on hers for a moment. "You skipped thirteen." Her heart was pounding at the touch of his hand.

She swallowed hard and her cheeks were set aflame. She looked nearly feverish. She turned her pencil around to erase, giving another nervous laugh. Donnie furrowed his brow at her. "Is something wrong? You seem a little... Preoccupied."

She refused eye contact and wrote down the correct problem. "I guess I have some things on my mind besides school work." Her hand trembled slightly as she hovered the pencil above the paper.

Donnie spun his stool to face her directly. "Well, what's on your mind then?" He smiled at her warmly.

She took a deep breath and laid down her pencil. Her eyes remained glued to her book. "I've been thinking about something lately. Well, rather someone..."

Donatello tilted his head curiously to the side. "Who?"

She shyly peaked at him from the corner of her eye. "Well... You, honestly."

"What about me?" He seemed taken aback.

She hesitated before slowly turning to face him. Her eyes were locked on her fidgeting hands. "Well, you're my best friend. And sometimes, I don't know what I would do without you..." She was slowly gaining the courage to say the words she had kept to herself for far too long.

"Donnie... I think you're really... Amazing," she said as she finally met his eyes. Her smile was shy, but genuine. She knew she did not need to explain herself any further. As a smile spread slowly across the lips she longed to kiss, April felt adrenaline kick in.

"April, I think you're amazing, too," he said quietly as he placed her hands in his own. In the brief silence, their eyes locked. Cerulean and cherry-chocolate eyes danced across one another. April leaned in closer to him, eagerly awaiting the perfect moment to close the final gap between them. Donnie leaned in slightly too, but quickly stood up from his stool and pulled her into his chest. April wrapped her arms around his shell, laying her cheek against his plastron. She smiled uncontrollably as his hand stroked her back lightly. With her ear against him, she listened to his heartbeat. It beat fast and recklessly, and she had a feeling that they were thinking about the very same thing.

A surge of adrenaline took over April's mind momentarily. "Why is your heart beating so fast, Don?" she asked coyly, biting her bottom lip. Though she could not see his reaction, she imagined he was dumbfounded. Another surge of adrenaline. "Is it because you want to kiss me?"

Even as she heard herself say the words, she had a hard time believing they were her own. They left her mouth and seemed to linger in the air for far too long before Donnie responded. There was a fleeting instant of fear just before the turtle pulled himself away. He leaned down slightly so their faces were level. April's eyes caught his once again, but quickly stole a glance at his lips, then back to his eyes.

"Since the day we met."

A large hand lightly landed on April's neck. Donnie's thumb brushed her jaw. The seconds stretched on forever it seemed, two sets of eyes piercing into one another. Two hearts pounding at the delightful tension. Donatello gently guided April towards him, waiting until the last moment to close his eyes.

April's eyes fluttered shut and she awaited the moment of contact. The anticipation was sickeningly sweet, but the true kiss was even sweeter. Their lips finally met in one swift, knee-weakening instant. Her blood tingled as it flowed through every vein in her body. His lips were perfectly soft and warm, tasting like honey. April placed a hand of her own on his neck, holding the kiss for longer than a simple peck. And more than a peck it certainly was. Their lips began to move together, gently gliding past one another in a dreamy bliss. April moved a second hand to Donnie's neck, kissing him with pent-up passion. She was breathless. She was floating. She was in heaven. This felt nothing like her first kiss. This was tenfold better.

In the sublime beauty of the moment, tongue barely grazed lip. The sensation sent April's head reeling, spinning in exhilaration. There was no ground beneath her, no walls around her, no rainy sky above her. Nothing. Nothing but Donatello existed.

As the kiss fell from heated to soft again, April dreaded the moment that they had to break apart. She wanted the feeling to last forever, but his lips left hers in a painfully slow final embrace.

Their eyes slowly opened once again, blinded by the fluorescent lights of the lab. April was speechless as she stared intently into the russet-colored eyes of her best friend.

"April. You really _are_ amazing." Donatello smiled down at her, cupping her cheek in his large hand.

She leaned into his tender touch, unable to control the smile that played across her face. Her heart was still at an elevated pace. "You're amazing, too, Donnie." She paused and giggled. "And you're a really good kisser."

He blushed and thanked her shyly.

**I got the inspiration for April's gutsiness from my own experience. I was on a date with a really awesome guy and he went to hug me when he dropped me off at home. I put my head on his chest and heard how fast his heart was beating, so I straight up asked him why, trying to be coy and playful. I don't remember what his excuse was, but I asked him next, "Is it because you want to kiss me?" Then he pushed me back and did it! I am the kind of chick who goes after what she wants whole-heartedly. And I thought the whole thing was absolutely adorable. I hope you enjoyed this, and I have an idea for a follow-up, so stick around for that!**


	9. Stars in the Rearview Mirror

**If you've made it this far into my story, let me begin by saying a big thank you. I really love writing, so it's a great feeling when other people enjoy the things you have written. Still a couple more chapters to go!**

After a few more hours of working between April's homework and Donatello's mutagen experiments, he could not help but notice her fading energy and caught her yawning silently time after time.

"You getting tired?" he asked as she laid her head on his shoulder.

She gave a small _mm-hmm_ before scooting closer to him and putting an arm through his.

He blushed and smiled before resting his cheek on the top of her head. The pair sat happily together in silence for a few moments.

"Ready for me to walk you home?" he asked.

April pulled her arm from his and stood up, stretching her back. "Yeah, I guess so. But I'm coming over tomorrow, you know."

Donnie chuckled and stood up. He gathered April's notes and text book and placed them in her backpack. He slid the bag onto her back for her and placed a hand on her shoulder, guiding her to the lab door. It slid open with a _clang_, revealing three brothers sprawled across the living room, arguing over who would play the next round of Street Fighter.

"I'm running April home. Be back in ten, guys," Donnie said to his brothers as he and April walked towards the turnstiles.

"Kay, be careful," Leo said over his shoulder. "See you later, April."

Mikey perked up and hopped onto the couch, looking over the back of it. He grinned at her and said, "Good to have you back, April."

She smiled back. "Good to be back, Mikey. G'night guys."

Mikey bounced back across the room and sat next to Raphael who turned over his shoulder. "Night, Ape."

Donatello and April walked through the turnstiles and towards the abandoned tunnels. As soon as they were out of sight from the other turtles, April grabbed Donnie's hand, somehow finding a way to lace her five fingers comfortably with his three.

Donnie felt warmth rush to his cheeks. He squeezed her hand softly and smiled at her with adoration. Her eyes met his as they walked together in comfortable silence. They looked back at him with the same gentleness he had himself. He felt like he was floating on air as they walked hand in hand down the tunnel, the only sound was that of their synchronized footsteps.

_I kissed her. I can't believe I kissed her, _he thought to himself. He could not control the smile that was permanently plastered on his face. He did not think he would ever stop smiling. The girl of his dreams had admitted feelings for him, the very same feelings he had the moment he laid eyes on her. He still had trouble processing the whole situation in his mind, but no matter how he looked at it, he could not have been happier.

As the pair approached the manhole up to surface, Donnie dropped April's hand.

"Let me go up first and make sure it's safe," he said, starting to climb the ladder. She nodded and watched him climb. Donnie reached the surface and looked around each corner of the alley. Seeing it was safe, he yelled back down the hole to April. "All clear, my lady." He grinned and held out a hand for her.

April climbed the ladder and grabbed onto his hand as she reached the top.

"Such a gentleman," she teased as he pulled her carefully from the hole, then pushed the manhole cover back in place.

"So, roofs or alleys?" Donnie asked her.

April paused to think for a moment. "Roofs. But can we take it slow? I'm a little groggy and don't want to miss a jump."

"You set the pace, April."

They climbed a fire escape to the roof of the nearest building. Just as they were about to set off, Donatello paused and took a panoramic view around him.

"Wow," he breathed. As miserable and rainy it had been for the past few days was how perfectly clear it had turned out to be. He stood still, gazing out over the buildings that seemed to stretch lazily towards the sky. Their lights shimmered for as far as he could see. The sky was almost completely free of clouds; just a few were left over from the rain showers earlier in the day. An unseasonably warm breeze gently tickled his skin.

April turned to Donnie. "What are you looking at?" she asked.

"It's just... A beautiful night. Look how clear it is now," he said, eyes fixed on the stars.

April stood next to him and stared up. "Yeah, for having been so miserable the past few days, this feels weird. But it's gorgeous. The stars seem so bright," she pondered.

Donnie reached for April's hand. She obliged and wrapped herself around his arm as they stargazed together. Resting her cheek on his shoulder, she said, "It's like someone dropped a bunch of glitter on a black sheet."

"Or like someone tossed a thousand diamonds across a giant blanket," Donnie finished her thought.

He felt her small hand rest on his neck as April stood on her toes to kiss his cheek. Donnie turned to her and cupped her face in his free hand. He kissed her sweetly, reliving the heart-pounding sensation he had experienced for the first time earlier that evening. The slow kiss sent his head spinning once again. He knew he could never get enough.

Their lips parted and they spent a few moments with their foreheads pressed together, both smiling uncontrollably. Donnie chuckled to himself, thinking about how lucky he felt.

"Are you laughing at me?" April smiled playfully at him as she pulled back.

"Not at all. I'm laughing at how lucky I am. I mean, I never thought I'd have a chance with someone as awesome as you. The odds were definitely not in my favor," he said, looking back to the glimmering stars.

April turned her gaze upward as well. "It wasn't about luck or odds, Donnie. You showing up in my apartment last night made me realize that you have always been there for me. And maybe I had these feelings all along, but last night was when I really couldn't deny them anymore. You're just... Really special. You're smart, kind, compassionate... And you're pretty adorable, too." She bumped her hip into him.

He blushed and tore his eyes away from the beautiful sky to look at the beautiful redhead clinging to his arm. "Still, I feel like I hit the jackpot." He kissed her forehead and guided her by the hand to the edge of the building.

"Ready?" he asked.

"Ready," she said with a confident nod.

They synchronized their jumps and landed at the opposite building at the same time. They continued to jump the gaps together, taking leisurely strolls in between and admiring the cityscape. Donatello stopped and pointed out a constellation.

"That bright star in the west is Vega, in the constellation Lyra," he explained. "In Chinese mythology, Vega was separated from her husband and children, beta and gamma Aquilae by the Milky Way. Once every year, magpies would come and make a bridge for them so they could be together."

"How romantic," April said, placing her hand in his and weaving their fingers together.

"The story also inspired the Japanese Tanabata festival. People write wishes on brightly colored paper and hang them on bamboo. There's a little poem about it, too."

"Do you know it?" she asked.

"Just the end of it. _Ohoshi-sama kirakira, sora kara miteru," _he recited in fluent Japanese.

April chuckled. "And what does that mean?"

Donatello squeezed her hand and looked at the sky dreamily. "The stars twinkle, they watch us from heaven."

Soon they reached April's building and carefully lowered themselves onto the fire escape. She leaned her back against the window and faced Donnie.

"Thanks for walking me home, Don." She smiled at him and reached out for his hands.

"Anytime, my lady." He flashed his gap-toothed smile and swung their hands together between them. April yawned and closed her eyes briefly.

"I wish you could just stay for a while, but I know you have to get back to the lair," she said through her yawn.

"And you need to get some sleep, April. If you're going to train with us again in the morning, you need your energy." Donnie pulled her hands into him and wrapped them around his shell. She held herself against his plastron as he stroked her hair.

They held each other for a few moments before April looked up from his chest. "Good night, Donatello."

He smiled at her use of his full name. Donnie placed both hands on her jaw and pulled her in to meet his lips one last time. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him with fervor. Their lips danced together, painfully slow and sensuous. Donnie listened to his heart pounding in his burning ears as he fully absorbed the sensation of April's lips against his own. They spent an eternity wrapped in each other's arms. Donnie sweetly caressed her mouth with his own until they were no longer a pair of separate mouths; there was only them together. April's hand trailed his neck softly, coming to rest at the top of his plastron.

As their kiss became more sensual, Donnie gently pushed April back against the window. He placed a hand above her on the glass pane as she attempted to press her body against his. Their lips swept past one another dreamily until he felt her tongue flick across his lower lip. He took it as an invitation and reciprocated the gesture. Soon their tongues were entangled in a leisurely dance, neither trying to overpower the other.

Donnie's mind no longer felt like a part of his body. No thoughts entered his head; it was swimming in euphoria. He placed a hand on the back of April's head and the other on the small of her back. April put her arms over Donatello's shoulders and twirled the tails of his purple mask between her fingers as her tongue danced across his. He felt a shiver flow through his body as April gently sucked on his lower lip.

They continued to entwine themselves together as the minutes ticked on. The heat between them began to fade and they shared short pecks between their panting breaths. Donatello never wanted to leave the moment, but knew he could not stay on the fire escape forever, kissing the girl of his dreams.

They finally pulled apart, resting their foreheads against one another. Donnie opened his eyes to see April's wildly flushed cheeks, her eyes still closed. She breathed quickly through her smiling mouth.

She spoke just above a whisper as she opened her cerulean eyes. "Good night, Donatello."

"Good night, April."


	10. The House Where We Grew Up

Donatello could no longer contain himself. As soon as he waved goodbye to April, he flew over the roofs at light speed. The cool air stung his eyes as it whipped past him, but a smile was still permanently stuck on his face. He did fanciful flips between the building gaps and ran until his legs nearly gave out underneath him.

He slipped into the manhole and walked back through the abandoned subway tunnels to the lair. If he closed his eyes, he could still feel the heart-pounding sensations, every tingle and surge of adrenaline. He could almost taste her lips all over again, feel her delicate hands tracing his jaw and neck. He was still walking on air as he pushed through the turnstiles, wearing a dreamy expression.

"Dude, _there_ you are!" Mikey yelled from across the lair, pausing the video game he and Raph were playing. "We were starting to get worried! What took you so long?" 

Donnie was still soaring as he said, "Why were you getting worried? How long was I gone?"

Raphael scrunched up his face. "You don't even know how long you were gone? Dude, it was almost half an hour."

Donnie chuckled. "Oh, I guess we just lost track of time."

Leonardo looked over the back of the couch at him incredulously. "Did something happen? You're acting kind of... Weird."

At that remark, Donatello's cheeks flushed beet red. His heart was racing again, but for new reasons. "Uh- No! Nothing happened, we were just, um... Taking a leisurely stroll?" he stuttered out.

Leo raised an eyebrow.

Raph turned back towards the TV and unpaused the game. "Whatever, man. Let's go Mikey. Blanka versus E. Honda."

"Dude, I wasn't ready!" Mikey squealed. "You want next, Don?"

Donnie joined his brothers in the pit area of the lair. "Sure, why not." He could still feel Leo's skeptical glare burning into him.

He and Leonardo took the next round of Street Fighter, choosing Vega and Guile, respectively. Donnie smiled at his character.

Raph scoffed at their choices. "Come on, Leo. Don't you ever play with anyone else? And why the heck did you pick the evil Spanish guy?"

Donnie's cheeks lit up again. "He's fast. And I like his claw thing."

Leonardo fought valiantly against Donatello's onslaught, but stood no match for his heightened senses from the adrenaline he still felt. Vega flew all over the screen, avoiding nearly every attack Guile could throw at him. Donnie mashed the buttons of the controller, performing combos he did not even know existed. As soon as Guile took a final fall, Donnie jumped up from the couch.

"Booyakasha!" he yelled as he stood on the cushions.

Leo and Raph sat wide-eyed with their jaws hanging open and Mikey went from stunned to ecstatic.

"Dude, you kicked Leo's butt! I've never seen him get beat so bad!"

Leo stood from the couch and faced Donnie, crossing his arms over his plastron. "Okay, what the heck is going on? Something's weird with you, I know it!"

Donatello jumped down from the couch and cleared his throat, slightly embarrassed at his overzealous reaction. "What are you talking about? Nothing's weird!"

"Leo's right," Raph said, turning towards his brothers. "You walked in here smiling like a dork and then you beat him to a pulp with his best character? No, something's definitely weird." He got up and stood next to Leo, cornering Donnie against the couch.

"Did something happen when you were with April?" Leo asked.

Donatello's heart stopped and his skin felt like it was on fire. Should he tell them? Would they make fun of him? How would they react? He swallowed hard.

"No!" he yelled defensively.

Mikey gasped and pushed between his two brothers. "No way! Look at his face! Something _did_ happen! What was it, Don? Did you tell April you're in _looove_ with her?" Mikey teased.

He was frozen. He looked between all three sets of staring eyes, wondering what he should say.

"Well, um... It wasn't really..." He stuttered.

All six eyes grew wide and Mikey gasped again. "No. Freaking. WAY! You totally told her, didn't you?"

Raph's mouth hung open slightly and Leo started to smile. "Well, what did she say?" he asked.

Donatello tried to back away but bumped into the edge of the couch. Words kept getting jumbled in his head and he had trouble forming complete sentences.

"She... Well, we kind of-"

Raph rolled his eyes. "Spit it out already, Genius."

Donnie glanced between their prying eyes and he heard his heart rate increasing by the moment. A million excuses shot through his mind, but he knew he could not hide the truth from his own brothers. In a moment of panic, he broke.

"WE KISSED! Okay? We kissed!"

Donnie sat back onto the couch and buried his face in his hands, terrified of how his brothers were going to mock him. He peeked through his fingers at their expressions. Raph was stunned speechless. Leo's smile turned devious. Mikey was the physical embodiment of Donnie's own excitement about the kiss.

"Dude. No. WAY!" Mikey yelped.

Leo's sly grin made Donnie nervous. "So, were you any good?"

Donatello fiddled with the wrappings on his hands. "Well, she said I was..." he trailed off, not wanting to share every detail with them.

Mikey laughed. "And Raph said he'd never have a chance with her!" He punched his brother in the arm playfully, who was still too stunned to even speak.

Sinking back into his hands, Donnie groaned. "Can you just stop making fun of me and being weird about it?"

Raph snorted. "Making fun? Dude, this is awesome! I can't believe you actually did it!"

He looked up from his place on the couch to three grinning brothers. "But you guys always made fun of me before!"

"We only made fun of you because we never thought it would actually happen!" said Raphael.

"Seriously, this is amazing!" said Mikey, still teeming with energy. "You are one lucky turtle, bro."

"Yeah, April's pretty awesome," said Leo.

Donnie felt a newfound affection for his brothers. He had been so afraid of being made fun of that he never stopped to consider that they might actually be happy for him. He smiled inwardly and thanked them in his head.

Raphael slapped a hand on Donatello's shoulder. "Nice going, Don. Now all you have to do is not screw it up. Who would have know April would be a sucker for giant nerd? Alright, Mikey, we're up."

Michelangelo and Raph took the controllers and sat on the floor in front of the TV. Leonardo took a seat next to Donnie on the couch, still smiling at his tallest brother.

Donatello breathed a sigh of relief. He felt like gravity had loosened its grip on him now that his brothers knew about him and April. Leo patted him on the shell.

"Just so you know, we're really happy for you, Donnie," Leo said.

Donnie simply smiled and thanked him. He sat back and pulled out his T-phone to send a quick text to April.

_Donatello: Hey, you still awake?_

_3April: Yup :)_

_Donatello: Well, the guys kind of forced me to tell them about us..._

_3April: Yeah? What did they say?_

_Donatello: They didn't make fun of me like I thought they would! They were actually really happy for me... And surprised that I actually told you that I liked you!_

_3April: Well I'm glad they're happy that we're happy Don :) And I am very very happy :) :)_

_Donatello: I couldn't be happier April :) Can't wait to see you in the morning!_

_3April: Let's make a ton of progress on the retro-mutagen tomorrow!_

_Donatello: Yes, let's! Sweet dreams :)_

_3April: Same to you, don't stay up too late! Goodnight :)_

_Donatello: I won't, goodnight :)_

Donnie could not help but chuckle at the excessive use of smiley faces in their text conversation, but it was certainly a representation of just how happy he felt. With the approval of his brothers, he could not help but feel like he was the luckiest, most blessed turtle in the world.


End file.
